You can really see how the guy has progressed as an animator. There's a whole world of difference in the fluidity and overall cohesion of the Viridian Trailer vs Charcoal, which looks clunky and uninspired.

The very last scene in Viridian, where she stabs the enemy with her bow and decapitates him from point blank range using bullets just screams RWBY to me.

 

Veridian Trailer is definitely a cut above the rest. The fighting is patently Monty-esque and that's really impressive.

That being said, he can really work on his cinematography a bit. It's not quite so bad in the Veridian trailer, but in the other two, the pacing between camera angles is waaaayyy too slow and completely kills the tension, atmosphere and enjoyment in it. Also could use better soundtracks and sound effects.

Does look like he's improving though, so hopefully the fourth will be a big step up again.

 

Quite. In Charcoal the MC was robotic in his expressions and then the movement was extremely clunky. The jumps especially were just the carácter design going up, not to mention that the fight scene (the challenge and enemy movements in particular) were uninspired.

Then was the silver tráiler. MC was better drawn, fight was more challenging and the carácter actually used his body to move. It still felt somewhat clunky.

Viridian tones up fluidity, has better choreography, better charácter design, better background. You can really tell the author is learning with each one made.

Though it does bother me a lot that in both Silver and Viridian the moon is whole. It could be excused in the red tráiler since it either was made before the series came together as a proof of concept or it is implied it is a dream by both the moon and Grimm designs. But here the setting is already developed. It is a minor thing all considered but it distracted me every time it appeared.

 

Professor Arc is still getting updates and I'll repeat what I said earlier, that despite my better judgment and against my will, I am fucking loving this story.

It's just so damn charming and amusing, even if it uses a bunch of tropes I usually dislike. But somehow, I am really invested in Jaune as teacher and the bond he has with the teachers, Neo, JNPR and RWBY.

 

So I've been reading a lot of RWBY fanfics recently, and one thing I've noticed is how often authors use "Monty Oum" as a replacement for "God." Since I haven't watched the show at all, is that just a fanfic thing, or is that something the RWBY series does as well?

 

It's just a fanfic thing, I don't recall gods or religions of any sort coming up in the show. I also kinda doubt Monty would've been that narcissistic.

 

It's that wonderful combination of autism and bad writing.

 

I've seen it in other fandoms - but it's especially prolific in the RWBY fandom. Partially, I think, because of Oum's death, but I saw it even before then. Unlike a lot of other creators, he also had a very active social media presence, so I think that played a significant role.

 

It's purely a fandom thing, and it's about 9 different flavors of aggravating. I've asked people who do it to explain why, and I've yet to get an answer that didn't make me want to kill myself to escape the stupidity of it all. My best guess at this point is that it's because Oum was the public face and obviously quite invested in his work, and ever since he died people in the community have put him on a massive pedestal.

 

Yeah, I think it was meant to be a tribute type thing that then became the norm. I don't recall seeing it much before he passed away.

 

I physically cringe every time I read "For Oum's sake" or variations there of. Anyway, I have given up on this fandom barring DLP writers. So luckily I don't have to suffer this swearing to Oum nonsense anymore.

 

I just chalk it up to a quirk of this fandom, you know, like the overabundance of shipping and ship names. Every fandom has these little things that make a sort of proto-culture.

Anyways, does anyone know a good RWBY crossover? I crawled through FFN but most of them were, well, terrible. I liked Lazy Ninja and Dust Based Thaumaturgy. The Longest Hunt was also pretty great even though I haven't actually played the game. But what I'm searching for is more like a merging of two universes. I know they can be pretty terrible and tough to write.

Also are there any good RWBY world building fanfics? That focus more on the exploration of other cities and the mythos? Ryuugi's The Games We Play had some pretty decent world building. Actually, I read that fanfic before I watched the show. So my opinion on it may be biased.

 

Haven't come across a single one yet. The world just doesn't work all that well for a character from another universe appearing in RWBY, since there's not all that much of a "plot" for some badass character to come solve (and most RWBY characters are badass enough already). There's more potential in the opposite I think (RWBY character going to another universe), but have yet to really come across it yet.

Four Deadly Secrets is worth it if you haven't read it yet (which has been recced earlier in this thread). It keeps to the same cities and locations, but does have a reasonably developed AU take on the world. It more explores the social/cultural side of things, particularly the darker aspects of the Huntress culture and the history and events of the White Fang revolution.

Certainly doesn't explore the history, locations, laws, technology, etc the way The Games We Play does though, so not sure if it's really what you're after.

(I may be biased in my recommendation though, as I still hold this fic as my favourite in the fandom)

 

I'm three chapters in and I'm already looking forward to when Team Maven's machinations to discredit and ruin Team Ruby come to a head. It's going to be a glorious train-wreck.

Edit: This fandom is fucking weird. Who the hell comes up with a spreadsheet for ship names?

 

I agree. RWBY characters in another universe would be pretty sweet. But I think it's a lot harder to write. We don't know the limits of power in the RWBY universe and how much the characters need to improve. Only at the end of the third season has there been a particularly nasty obstacle that has forced the girls to train. The show has just begun to delve into its magic too. Unless we see the upper limit of power, it will be very hard to place the characters accurately.
But I am so tired of each and every character (SIs, OCs, the crossovered) joining Beacon and then Team RWBY. Why?

On yes, Four Deadly Secrets is a great fanfic. I loved reading it. It went so much further than canon in establishing the universe and the characters. I mean, that's part of why I read fanfics; to see the characters I love through other people's eyes.

I have such a ball reading the ship names. I mean, the creativity alone surpasses that of any other fandom I know.

 

New story by College Fool, Breaking Through the Bottom of the Bottle. It's set five years in the future after the main story of RWBY has wrapped up, and is focused on Jaune and Yang. Specifically, it's about Jaune being a dense motherfucker and not noticing that Yang is attracted to him. The story is completely written and College Fool is posting it piecemeal with a chapter a day; four chapters have been posted so far.

It's still in the setup phase, but what's there is entertaining. It does milk the "Jaune, you dense motherfucker" aspect of the story really hard, but that hasn't worn out its welcome yet. That said, I hope it changes direction soon. Both Jaune and Yang have some emotional baggage that needs unpacking, and doing so should help get the romantic relationship between them started, and get the story past the "Jaune failing to pick up women while Yang looks on in forlorn bemusement" stage that we are currently at.

 

Jaune being dense? Yawn.

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I don't get people's fascinating with Jaune. I've only ever managed to follow a Jaune-centric story once and quickly dropped it. Can't understand it.

 

Wow. Do fics even EXIST for all of those? It's literally a matrix of every character and all possible matches for them. Like, do we really need a name for Ozpin/Adam...?

I'm with you there. I can certainly give that he can be fun as the comical in your more comedy fics, such as Professor Arc and Arc of the Revolution. Even Zodiac makes sense, because he's supposed to be the normal - everyone else is sort of explored through his eyes and it works.

But for most stories that take themselves seriously, I just don't get the attraction to using Jaune as a protagonist.

I suppose it goes back to that "underdog" concept where you want to see the weak character overcome his hurdles and become better than everyone else, but half of these fics already start with him already being overpowered somehow.

 

The appeal of Jaune Arc is the appeal of Ron Stoppable. He's a pathetic loser surrounded by bad asses who, despite his weakness, wants to be a hero. It's easy to find that endearing - even if he's incredibly annoying 99% of the time.

He's a polarizing character, but I think the reasons for his popularity are pretty clear. He's basically the Ron Stoppable, Neville Longbottom, or Xander Harris of RWBY. He's likable in the way Peter Parker is likable. He's definitely one of the more relatable characters, in any case.

Honestly, I see why a lot of people dislike him, but I am a Jaune apologist to the end. This is my hill, and I will die on it if I have to.

It makes sense, when you think about it. After all, we've already seen Jaune as a weakling - in canon. It doesn't need to be showcased, as he's already considered an automatic underdog due to his original role. Obviously, these fics still tend to be terrible (TGWP being the exception), but the appeal makes sense. Branding is important after all.

 

For RWBY crossovers, these are somewhere between not awful and reasonable.

WH40K - https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10855163/1/A-World-of-Bloody-Evolution

This was rec'd earlier in the thread I think. Yang winds up in the 40K universe. She goes places.

Dresden - https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11729389/1/Dust-and-Motes

Yang falls into a coma and wakes up inside Demonreach.

Nanoha - https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11755899/1/Hazredous-Interruptions

The main characters of Nanoha crash land on Remnant and can't phone home. Glynda and team RWBY are first on the scene.

Bleach - https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11937205/1/Strawberry-Fields

After the Soul Society arc, the portal thingy puts Ichigo and friends on Remnant during Beacon initiation instead of earth.

(and yeah, the latter two definitely break the setting)